Joseph Diaz Jr. (15-0, 10 KOs) calmly wore down Juan Luis Hernandez (17-5-1, 9 KOs) with a combination of skillful boxing and power punching to score a third-round TKO win at the Belasco Theater in Los Angeles, California.
The scheduled 10-round fight was televised on Fox Sports 1 in the U.S and headlined the first installment of Golden Boy Boxing‘s LA Fight Club, which features a club-like setting and atmosphere for live boxing fights.
Diaz calmly boxed Hernandez from his southpaw stance, landing quick left hands and right hooks before defending nearly everything Hernandez threw.
Diaz showed many qualities one needs to see in a young professional: sharp punches, good defense, and a calm approach to finishing a fight.
It was this combination of skills that allowed Diaz to knock Hernandez down with body shots three times in Round 3.
Soon before the final round ended, however, Diaz landed a powerful fight-finishing punch from which Hernandez could no longer recover.
There was confusion as to what happened, but Jack Reiss told the ringside media that it was an accidental punch thrown after the bell.
Accidental or not, Gonzalez could no longer continue and so Diaz earned the stoppage win.
“My game plan was to cut him off and break him down,” said Diaz, “I wanted to dictate the pace of the fight with body shots and that’s what I did.”
Diaz remains undefeated and continues his rise in the Super Bantamweight division.
Christian Gonzalez (8-0, 8 KOs) vs. Julio Cesar Sarinana (3-2-1)
Christian Gonzalez recovered from a first-round knockdown to stop Julio Cesar Sarinana in the sixth and final round of a Lightweight fight.
After a tough start, Gonzalez began to wear Sarinana down with his in-your-face style of throwing a plethora of hooks and right hands to stifle and overwhelm his opponent.
Sarinana would eventually fade and become more and more susceptible to Gonzalez’s offense, which lead to a severe protuberance above his left eye.
After a quick look at the doctor to check Gonzalez’ swelling, the fight was immediately stopped.
Santiago Guevara (8-0, 3 KOs) vs. Carlos Morales (6-1-3, 2 KOs)
Carlos Morales scored a majority decision win over Santiago Guevara in a six-round Super Featherweight fight.
After a first-round warm-up, both fighters began engaging in a very close and tough fight.
Guevara, who shares a trainer with Julian Ramirez in Rafael Sarabia, was the favorite going into the fight as a Golden Boy Prospect, but encountered a tougher-than-expected opponent in Morales.
For all the Guevara landed, Morales had his share of offense, including counter right hands and left hooks.
“I trained for 356 days,” said Morales.
“Santiago was tough, he was solid. I respect him. It was a close fight. If he wants a rematch I will give it to him,” Morales concluded.
